When preparing monthly or quarterly reports, it is often useful to know how to share the data among the different applications in the Office 2016 suite. In this tutorial, you will learn how to place the data and chart objects created in an Excel file into a Word document. There are basically two ways that you can accomplish this. The first way is to simply embed the Excel table or chart into Word and you will get a snapshot of the data at the time you embedded the chart. The second way is to link the data and chart to its original Excel file. By doing this, your Word document will be updated whenever the Excel file is modified and stay current with any changes.
Embed an Excel Chart in a Word Document
- Start Word and create a new document using the blank document template.
- Type the following title then Tap the ENTER key on your keyboard and then select both lines
Bayshore Travel Dance Cruises
Fourth Quarter 2015 Revenue Report - Click the Home tab > Styles Group > More down arrow on the Quick Styles Gallery and choose the Title style
- Click the Home tab > Paragraph Group and Center the headings
- Position the insertion in the blank line below the title lines and type the following
This report is generated by the Bayshore Travel agency and documents the quarterly revenue from sales of dance cruises for the fourth quarter 2015. Below you will find a snapshot of the revenue generated from sales of dance cruises to Alaska, Caribbean, Mexico, Europe and Hawaii. - Tap the ENTER key once
Embed an Excel Object
- Click the Insert tab > Text Group > Object menu and choose Object
- From the popup window, click the Create from File tab
- Click the Browse button and navigate to the folder where your Excel spreadsheet and chart are located
- Double click the Excel file to open it and click OK.
A snapshot of the Excel file containing the spreadsheet and chart will be embedded in your document and it should now look like the following:
Insert a Linked Object
If you want the Excel spreadsheet and chart to update in your Word document whenever a change is made to the Excel file, you can insert the Excel file using linking and embedding. One way to do this is to insert a linked object using the Ribbon commands as follows:
-
- Click the Insert tab > Text Group > Object menu arrow and choose Object
- Click the Create from File tab
- Click the Browse button and navigate to the folder where your Excel spreadsheet and chart are located
- Check the Link to File checkbox and then click the OK button. The Excel file should be inserted into your Word document.
“Check that the linking is working by making a change in your Excel spreadsheet and verify that the change is reflected in your Word document”.
Link an Object using Paste Special
Another way to use an Excel chart or spreadsheet in a Word document is to copy the spreadsheet and chart in Excel and then use the Paste Special option in Word as follows:
- Open the Excel workbook you want to embed and select and the spreadsheet and chart to be linked
- Click the Home tab > Clipboard Group > Copy command to copy the spreadsheet and chart
- Switch to the Word document and then Click the Home tab > Clipboard Group > Paste menu down arrow and choose Paste Special
- From the popup window, make sure you choose the Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object
- Choose Paste Link option and then click OK. The spreadsheet and chart should now be embedded in your Word document.
“Check that the linking is working by making a change in your Excel spreadsheet and verify that the change is reflected in your Word document”.
When you embed an Excel 2016 spreadsheet into a Word 2016 document and you intend to edit the values on the Excel spreadsheet, should you be editing from Excel or by clicking on the “table/spreadsheet” from within Word?
And if you do the later, have you ever encountered issues on a Microsoft Surface where the Spreadsheet once edited reduces to about 1/4 the original size?
Hi Dorothy,
If you want the Excel Spreadsheet linked to Word such that everytime you update the spreadsheet, it automatically updates in Word, you should be making your updates in Excel. However, when you paste your spreadsheet into Word, you have to chose the Paste Special option instead of paste. With “Paste Special”, you will be presented with the Paste Special dialog box. Select paste link and make sure you click on Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object. If you don’t need to link the spreadsheet, you can just create the spreadsheet in Word. I haven’t encountered the problem on Microsoft Surface you mention though!
Question: I use Word and Excel 2016 (converted from 2007) and often when I link excel to word, the link comes across as a hyperlink. Generally it starts as a picture (which I can resize and format) but when I go into “Format Object” layout, to center the excel link (I have to choose Wrapping Style – Square, then center, the object becomes a hyperlink (which I then cannot resize or center). Any ideas how to overcome this. This did not happen in prior versions.
Hi Jan,
It sounds like you are pasting your Excel Spreadsheet into Word as a Picture. First copy your Excel spreadhseet and then, before you paste it into Word 2016, choose “Paste Special” instead of Paste. You will be presented with the Paste Special dialog box. Select paste or paste link and make sure you click on Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object. This should fix the problem.
I have Windows 2016 installed 2 weeks back. I can get the excel spread sheet into my word document, manipulate the excel sheet and save, but once I want to re open the following message appear;
The server application, source file or item cannot be found
Make sure the application is properly installed and not been deleted, removed, renamed or blocked by policy.
Please can anyone assist as this is very frustrating.
Hi Michael,
Did you do a Paste Link or just Paste when you inserted your Excel spreadsheet into Word? If you did a paste link, it sounds like the file that you are linked to no longer exists on your computer or server or maybe got moved to another directory? If you did a paste link, you should be able to update the spreadsheet in Excel and it would automatically update in Word. Maybe try locating the Excel file on your computer/server and re-pasting it into Word via the Paste Link option. Then try to update the spreadsheet again and see if you still get the same error.
I have gotten as far as to link and fit the excel sheet and word, how do I get the lines to not show up. I could do this in Word 2003.
Before you copy the table in Excel, first select it and then go to the Page Layout tab and under the Sheet Options Group, uncheck the View box for both Gridlines and Headings. Then copy your excel table as usual and use Paste Special, Paste Link, chose Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object and click OK. Your table should appear in Word without the lines.